Written statement to Parliament

Stephen O'Brien: On attacks against peacekeepers in Darfur

Stephen O'Brien condemns the ongoing violence in Darfur.

This was published under the 2010 to 2015 Conservative and Liberal Democrat coalition government
Sir Stephen O’Brien

In a meeting in London with the Joint Special Representative of the UN-AU Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) and Interim Joint Chief Mediator, Ibrahim Gambari, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for International Development, Stephen O’Brien, today condemned the ongoing violence in Darfur which has resulted in the death of four UNAMID peacekeepers in the last two months.

On 6 November a UNAMID patrol came under attack in Nayala, resulting in the death of one Sierra Leonean peacekeeper and serious injury of two others. Just one month previously three peacekeepers were killed in Zam Zam camp just outside El Fasheer.

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State expressed his gratitude for the work done by UNAMID peacekeepers, and sent his condolences to the families of those killed.

He said: “I salute these men, who work to improve the life of the people of Darfur despite continuing to face acts seeking to undermine this role.”

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State assured Mr Gambari of the UK’s support for the mission and urged the Government of Sudan to do everything possible to bring the perpetrators to justice.

Published 10 November 2011